Former Nigeria Police Force Public Relations Officer, Deputy Commissioner of Police Olumuyiwa Adejobi, has issued a clear warning that anyone who uses a cutlass to dispossess another person of property is, in the eyes of the law, committing armed robbery.

Adejobi, known for using public platforms to explain legal and security issues in simple terms, stressed that a cutlass is not a harmless tool once it is deployed in a criminal context. He explained that the law classifies it as an offensive weapon, and when such a weapon is used to threaten, intimidate or attack a victim during theft, the offence automatically escalates from simple stealing or robbery to armed robbery.

He noted that many Nigerians wrongly assume that only firearms qualify as “arms” in robbery cases. According to him, this misconception has led some offenders to believe that using knives, cutlasses, broken bottles or other sharp objects carries lighter consequences. Adejobi emphasized that this belief is dangerous and legally false.

Under Nigerian criminal law, an offensive weapon is any object made or adapted for causing injury, or which is carried with the intention of causing injury. By that definition, a cutlass, though commonly used in farming and domestic work, becomes an offensive weapon the moment it is brandished or used to instill fear while taking property from another person.

Adejobi explained that once an offensive weapon is involved, the crime meets the threshold for armed robbery, an offence that attracts far more severe penalties than ordinary theft or robbery. Convictions for armed robbery in Nigeria can lead to life imprisonment or, in some jurisdictions and circumstances, the death penalty.

He urged members of the public, especially youths, to understand the gravity of carrying sharp or dangerous objects during any form of confrontation or criminal act. What might appear to them as a minor or impulsive act, he warned, could result in charges that carry life-altering consequences.

Adejobi’s message reinforces ongoing efforts by law enforcement authorities to educate citizens on the legal implications of violence and the use of weapons, and to discourage the normalization of carrying cutlasses and similar items in disputes, street fights or opportunistic crimes.